Liberalism obliges the state to refrain from endorsement of a cultural orthodoxy and instead to base law on secular interests like harm prevention. But is this possible if lawmakers' perceptions of harm derive from their cultural values? (published in the Stanford Law Review)
environment, guns, law, public health 
Survey and experimental data show not only that Americans are culturally polarized on a wide range of risk and policy issues, but also why and what might be done to change this situation.
abortion, drugs, global warming, guns, hiv, nuclear power, pornography 
Will the Virginia Tech massacre generate a shift in public opinion on gun control? The phenomenon of cultural cognition suggests the answer is "no."
criminal law, guns, law 
Why has the proliferation of empirical studies on permissive concealed hand-gun laws not quieted public debate on this issue? The answer is that the empirical evidence avoids the cultural underpinnings of the debate.
criminal law, guns, law
Can the emergence of scientific consensus be expected to quiet disagreement about the efficacy of gun control laws? Not necessarily. This paper shows why, using computer simulations of knowledge transmission that incorporate the phenomenon of cultural cognition.
criminal law, guns, law 
The cultural differences that divide Americans on guns can be overcome through a new style of expressive politics that embraces and multiplies rather than brackets the social meanings laws express.
criminal law, guns, law The problem with gun litigation isn't that it is contrary to well established tort law, that it generates bad policy, or that it is unconstitutional. It's that this approach to America's gun controversy is culturally obtuse.
